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As R&B singer Brandy establishes herself as a frontrunner to claim “Dancing With the Stars’” coveted Mirror Ball trophy, she realizing that some fellow celebrities are following her progress – including new “Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez, who’s got some pretty impressive dance chops herself.

“I went to The Carousel of Hope Ball the other night with Maks [Chmerkovskiy, her professional dance partner], and so many people were coming up to us and telling us that we're doing a good job,” Brandy told Popcorn Biz. “I love Jennifer Lopez, and when I went to say ‘Hi J-Lo,’ she said “So, how's it going on “Dancing With The Stars?” I was like “How did you know?!”

Lopez appeared on ABCs dance show back in 2007, but still Brandy was surprised the actress/pop star was monitoring her rise. “You'd never think that someone like J-Lo – and no offense to "Dancing with the Stars," they've done a great job of making the show a phenomenon – would know that I'm on the show, and that just made me feel so good.”

The same night, Brandy also found another fan of her footwork in fellow R&B star Akon. “Akon was like “You're doing good on the show.” I was like “Wow. This is amazing!” Then just regular people that walked up and had something nice to say, even that makes you feel good.”
The singer said that, six weeks into her run in the competition, she still marvels at the widespread audience she’s reaching now, even after spending most of her teen and adult years in the public eye.

“This show has brought so much exposure and a totally different demographic than what I'm used to into my life,” she said.